1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a mask-less exposure apparatus to enlarge or reduce an exposure area and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a method to form a pattern on a panel of a Flat Panel Display (FPD) is as follows. First, a panel is coated with a pattern material and then, the pattern material is selectively exposed by use of a photo-mask. As chemical properties of a part of the pattern material are changed by the selective exposure, the chemically changed part or the remaining part of the pattern material is selectively removed, completing formation of a pattern.
Presently, a mask-less exposure apparatus not using a photo-mask is been widely used. In the mask-less exposure apparatus, a light beam is transferred to a panel based on pattern information in the form of electrical signals obtained by use of an electronic unit. More specifically, differently from a conventional analog exposure apparatus using a mask, the mask-less exposure apparatus uses a new pattern exposure method using light management software, and is used in the printing of a circuit board, the manufacture of a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, or the like. An example of the electronic unit is a Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD). The DMD utilizes the principle of making a single screen using only a required quantity of light, in which a relatively large number of micro-mirrors guide light having a given incidence angle in a desired angular direction while guiding the remaining light in a different angular direction.
In the meantime, it may be necessary for an exposure apparatus to enlarge or reduce an exposure area and the conventional analog exposure apparatus has accomplished this function via management of an optical system. However, the digital mask-less exposure apparatus has difficulty in direct management of an optical system due to use of a plurality of heads and performs a scanning exposure operation and therefore, may need a method to enlarge or reduce an exposure area in a scan direction.